2022 Inazio Urruzola Blanco Getariako Txakolina Spain 750 ml

We’re not sure wine gets more refreshing than Inazio Urruzola’s Txakolina (chah-ko-leen-uh), the slightly spritzy white from Spain’s Basque country.

We were first introduced to this bottle nearly a decade ago at the legendary San Sebastián MICHELIN 3-star restaurant Arzak, where Sommelier of the Year winner Mariano Rodriguez poured it along the tasting menu that combined old-school Basque inspiration with thoroughly modern techniques.

At the time he told us he featured the wine “because it is a Txakoli that fits well with the food we do in this house.” If this instantly lovable, eminently gluggable, crisp, floral Txakolina was worthy of attention from one of the world’s greatest sommeliers, we felt like it was worth our attention with dinner—and we were so smitten by its charms we’ve proudly featured it since.

Foodies needing a break from San Sebastián’s Michelin star-studded scene can take a short drive from Arzak to Inazio Urruzola Getariako. They’ll step into Basque history in the process. The rustic hamlet that established the estate as an apple press in 1348 still stands, and its landscape has also been stewarded by the same family for 11 generations. 

The founders of Inazio Urruzola ripped out their apple orchards centuries ago, replacing them with vines planted around 1,000 feet above sea level. The roots of the estate’s ensuing winemaking tradition are still strongly present. 

Estate blocks are farmed using old-school sustainable methods, and each of the wine’s Basque-indigenous Hondarribi Zuri grapes are hand-harvested after they’ve been sufficiently caressed by the region’s cool climate. This process results in a textbook Txakolina; a light-bodied expression of the Basque region driven by lively acidity and crisp, fresh fruit.